Congress remains numb, BJP keeps momentum
The difference between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party on managing electoral politics is so stark that it is evident on a day-to-day basis. Even as the Congress is grappling with the recent losses, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, refusing to acknowledge its failures and make course-corrections, the BJP has launched a drive to not just consolidate its 2014 lok Sabha victory but to also gain ground in the 120 odd constituencies it had failed to win. Party president Amit Shah had half-jokingly remarked recently that he was into election-mode 24 hours a day — a poll-winning machine for the BJP. Such work culture maintains the momentum of wins and absorbs the shock of losses that also come in a political party's way. The BJP's resolve to target the lost constituencies means that the party will be focusing especially on Odisha, West Bengal and a clutch of southern States where the BJP fared poorly in 2014. The project will involve identifying dynamic local level leaders, exploiting the shortcomings of incumbent non-BJP/non-NDA Governments, and pushing aggressively the Modi regime's achievements in areas ranging from political to economic to international diplomacy. The message is clear: The BJP seeks to at the very least displace the Congress as an alternative to the present Governments in those States. In Odisha, it has already made a good start by performing way above expectation in the local body election, pushing the Congress aside. And in West Bengal, with its vote-share showing a steady increase over the years, the BJP is plotting to displace the left Front as an answer to Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress. In Tamil Nadu, J Jayalalithaa's death and the fragmentation of the ruling AIADMK has given the BJP an opportunity to attempt at positioning itself as a serious contender. It remains to be seen as to what extent the fresh drive will bear fruit for the party, but at least the BJP is not resting on its laurels. It is already looking at 2019, but also focussing on the smaller State battles ahead. In Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, both of which will elect a new Assembly by this year-end, the party is already on an overdrive. By contrast, the Congress is struggling to negate the Virbhadra Singh factor in the hill State, with the Chief Minister embroiled in corruption cases. And, in the Prime Minister's home State of Gujarat, the Congress is hoping for external factors — the Hardik Patel-Shiv Sena combine — to come to its rescue. Given that the BJP's 2014 block-buster performance had come on the back of a stunning sweep in Uttar Pradesh, the party is given all it has to the State. The Yogi Adityanath regime has adopted a two-pronged strategy: Honour the commitments in the manifesto and makes new outreaches. Thus, while the execution of the anti-Romeo squad and the shutting down of illegal slaughterhouses continue as part of an earlier given assurance, the Adityanath regime has reached out to the Scheduled Castes, by seeking to establish 25 courts for their issues.